Connector



C. W. LOWE.

CONNECTOR.

APPLICATION HLED FEB. 5. 1917.

1399,253 Patented July 8, 1919.

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CHARLES W. LQWE, 0F JERSEY C1331, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, TNCORCPGRATED, 6L NEN YORK, N. 35., A CORFQRATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 5, 191?. Serial No. 146,679.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that 1, CHARLES W. Lows, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Connectors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to connecting devices for use in electric circuits, and particularly to devices of the type wherein the circuit connections are established by means of plugs and jacks. v

One object of the invention is the production of a connecting jack in which the contact members ar constructed so as to provide the required flexibility but so disposed in their relation to their supports that they occupy a comparatively small space.

Another object is the production of a con: nector of the type wherein a plurality of plugs are used as a unit and in which the said plural plug unit is adapted to coooerate with a corresponding set of plural jacks, the said connector being so constructed that the individual plugs are not held in a definite or fixed relation to each other,.but a slight lateral movement is permitted whereby said individual plugs or the unit will cooperate with plural jack sets in which the individual aclrs are mounted on slightly varying centers.

The production of apparatus of this type has proved to be unsatisfactory heretotre from a manufacturing standpoint, for the reason that both the plug and jack mountings have required accurate and expensive tools in. order to avoid inaccuracies in the mounting centers, which objections have been overcome in this improved apparatus.

This apparatus is particularly adapted for use in the equipment of large multiple telephone switohboards as a means oi interconnection between the operators telephone set (transmitter and receiver) and the circuits of the switchboard. due in part to fact that it occupies less space than apparatus used heretofore for the same purpose, and also due to the fact that it does not project beyond the face of the switchboard when mounted for use, and in that way overcomes a serious objection from an operating standpoint to the apparatus used heretofore tor the same purpose.

The various features of this invention will be more readily understood by reference to the the accompanying drawings,- in

Patented July 8, 1919.

whic'li Figure 1 is a side elevation of the plug ands:-

jack partly in section; Fig. is a bottom. view of the appa 'atus withthe parts int-er connected into operative relation; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus with the parts interconnected into operative relation and illustrating the manner in which they are mounted in a switchboard.

Referring now to the drawings, the plug comprises a pair of connectors 5 and 6 the ends of whichare inclosed in a shell. or casing 1 open at one end and having a pair of rectangular brass strips 2 and 3 attached to the inner top and bottom walls thereof by screws at. The end of each connectoris embedded in a rectangular block of insulating material 7 molded to the required form. Grooves molded on opposite sides of the insulating block engage the brass strips 2 and 3, and by means of said engagei'nent the connectors and shell are interlocked.

The inside width of the shell 1 is slightly greater than the combined width of the two blocks of insulating material on the connectors, which permits the said connectors to move longitudinally, either individually or collectively, a distance equal to this difference. Each connector is shown as com: prising two contact portions, tip and sleeve,

springs. Each lug with the springs secured thereto comprises a unit, and each unit is mounted individually on the mounting strip 10. Each set of contact springs is made up primarily of two main springs 12 and 13 adapted to engage the tip and sleeve respectivelv of the individual connectors when the plug is inserted in the jack, with the addition of auxiliary springs 16, 17 and 18 adapted to cooperate with springs 12 and 13 for controlling local circuits. A pair of sleeves 1 and 15 is secured in the mounting 10 for guiding the connectors into engagement with their sets of contact sprin s.-

The said sleeves are separated electrically The contact springs are approXi-' the sides of the said springs and integral therewith. By the use of U-shaped springs the free ends may be long enough to insure the required flexibility and atthe same time may be assembled into a very compact and efficient structura- 1 In the use ofthis apparatus in connection with telephone switchboards, the jack is mounted in the lower portion of the keyshelf lock rail 22 and held in position by means of suitable screws 21, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The lock rail is of wood, is placed directly under the front edge of the key shelf and extends the full lengthof the switchboard. At each operators os1t10n anopening is made through the loc rail, and the jack is mounted on the rear of the rail opposite such opening. A portion of the 7 front railis also cut away to provide an opening large enough to contain the shell of the plug when the plug is inserted in the jack. As a result of this mounting arrange-. ment, the plug, when inserted in the jack, occupiessuch a position that its end lies flush with the front surface of the lock rail; and inasmuch as the connecting cord 23 enters the plug from the bottom, projections .beyond the surface of the rail are avoided.

The allowance made in the plugs for a slight interval between the individual units thereof provides a means for compensating for slight variations in the'mounting centers of theindividual jack sleeves 14 and 15 at the time they are assembled in'the mounting plates 10. Due to this compensating feature of the plugs, wider manufacturing limits are allowable in the mounting centers. of the jacks over similar types of apparatus produced heretofore, in which the individual jacks and plugs were mounted on fixed centers, Without impairing the operating efficiency of the apparatus.

What is claimed is:

1. A connecting plug, comprising a pair of contact members, a casing inclosing a portion of the contact members, and a single -means adapted to hold thecasing in position and to permit a free lateral movement ofthe contact members.

2. In a connecting plug, a pair of contact members each comprising tip and sleeve portions separated by insulating material, additional insulating material surrounding one end of'each contact member, a plurality of recesses formed in said molded insulating material, an inclosure for the insulated ends of said contact members, and a single means secured to the inner walls of said inclosure adapted to cooperate with the recesses formed in the molded material whereby the ends of the contact members are retained in the said inclosure but lateral movement-of the said contact members is permitted.

mounted on and extending parallel to said l t nd having free ends extending across and in perpenchcular ,ahnement to sald sleeve whereby said sleeve serves to lde a connector into engagement with said con-' tact springs.

4. The'combination with a base plate provided with an aperture therein, a sleeve mounted in such aperture, a set of U-shaped contact springs each having one leg thereof secured to said plate and having the other leg thereof free and'extending parallel to said plate, the ends of the free legs of each of said contact springs projecting across said sleeve whereby said sleeve serves to guide a connector into engagement with said contact springs. p

5. The combination with a base plate, of a plurality of sets of contact springs mounted thereon, a plurality of connectors adapted to cooperate with the said contact springs, means secured to said plate for guidlng the 'said connectors into engagement With the said springs, a casing inclosing the ends of said connectors, a single means for securing the said connectors to the casing and also adapted to permit sufiicient lateral movement of the said connectors to compensate for variations in the mounting centers of the said guiding means.

6. In a switching device, in combination,

a plurality of sets of contact springs, the springs of each set being secured together as a unit, a base plate supporting the sets of" contact springs in definite'relatlon to apertures provided in thebase plate, a casing, a plurality of plugs having one end thereof surrounded by an insulating member inclosed by said casing, said insulating member having a plurality of recesses formed therein, a single means adapted to be engaged by such recesses to permit a lateral movement. of the plugs and to form a connecting means for the casing, and a plurality of contact members for each plug adaptedto register with said contact springs when the plugs are inserted in the base plate.

7. A connecting plug, comprising a pair of contact members, aremovable casing serving as a housing for a portion of the contact members, and a single means adapted to hold said casing in position and to automatically permit a free lateral movement of the contact members.

the apertures of In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 3rd day of February, A. D.,

CHARLES W.- LOWE. 

